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INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION IN POLLEN YIELD IN BROMEGRASS (POACEAE: BROMUS)
Author(s) -
McKone Mark J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1989.tb11306.x
Subject(s) - pollen , biology , stamen , poaceae , botany , bromus inermis , shoot , intraspecific competition , agronomy , ecology
Variation in pollen production was measured within five hermaphrodite species of bromegrass ( Bromus ). Anther length is an excellent predictor of pollen production in this genus ( R 2 = 0.97). Anther length varied considerably within each of the species, both among and within individual plants. Within plants, most of the variation occurred among florets within spikelets; florets in upper spikelet positions were smaller and produced less pollen. In B. inermis , pollen production was decreased by defoliation and increased in shoots that grew on thatching ant ( Formica obscuripes ) mounds. Whole‐shoot pollen yield was determined by spikelet number, number of florets per spikelet, and pollen production per floret. All of these yield components must be considered in attempts to estimate pollen production accurately.